Musical retrospectives of specific years most often focus on the music of that year as a Best Of list. For me, 1998 is certainly a year for which I can collect my opinions on the music of the year and present them in that sort of list. However, 1998 is also a year for which music takes a backseat when compared to the importance of the year to my life outside of music. 1998 provided a paradigm shift in my life. There are many reasons that this is true, so I have created a different kind of list.

1. I turned 30 in 1998. I don’t believe that decade markers have meaning in how one should view their lives, and there are no other decade markers that provide such poignant meaning to me. I would say that it is the following points that made turning 30 have meaning to me, but facts are facts, and I turned 30 in 1998.
2. The band I had played in for many years officially broke up in 1998. Much like turning 30, my leaving this band was an effect of the following points more than a catalyst for them. But it is true, nonetheless. I was the second member to leave, and we both left for the same reasons – family and career. Even though I continued to make music both with one of the former band members and on my own, this was a major leap forward in my adulthood.
3. The temp job I had worked for over seven years to supplement my income was about to become a career. The temp work and temp position I had earned at this job were suddenly providing a livable wage, providing opportunities to travel around the country, and exposing me to a diverse group of people. What is amazing, especially in this modern world of job insecurity and constant career change, is that within a year I would have a full-time job at this work – the same work I am still doing 25 years later.
4. While traveling for this job, I met Ms. Faux. That is where it all changed for me, and I became an adult. I didn’t understand it at the time, but my twelve years of adulthood were a wasteland before I met my wife. It is difficult to understand the limits of your life when you are in the middle of your current situation – at least I assume this is true for many people – and 1998 was the year that I started to understand what it meant to be a “grown-up.” Looking back, I knew I was still searching for something more meaningful when I turned 30. I think that is most likely true for most people of my generation – Generation X. We were called the Slacker Generation before we were identified as Gen X, and many people probably believed it was a term of derision. But for those of us who embodied that Slacker label, it was a battle-cry. We were spit from the Baby Boomer generation with an impossible duty to fulfill – live our lives like the previous generation. But the life that generation envisioned was destroyed by THEM through decades of neglect – Vietnam, political assassinations, failed attempts at racial and gender equality, Nixon, Reagan/Bush, etc. – and left our generation wondering why we should kill ourselves like we watched our parents do just to inherit a corrupt, broken nation. But in the middle of that confusing contradiction of purpose, meeting Ms. Faux provided a post-slacker purpose. I could suddenly envision myself in a long-term relationship. I could see myself as a husband and father. She showed me that this was a possibility for me, led me through those changes, and guided me to fulfill those purposes. Within two years I was a husband, within seven I was a father, and now I believe that I am the best version of myself. I am capable of providing meaningful change and support to others and always attempting to better myself toward fulfilling what should be the goals of all humans – self-improvement, compassion, sympathy, and understanding. The world is filled with people who don’t attempt to improve, don’t think of their life as requiring change, and show no compassion for anyone but themselves. I was heading down a path to be like those people before 1998.

Of course, the Faux Show is about music, so I need to write about 1998 in those terms. However, anything I write about music in 1998 or the years after is guided by the changes that occurred to my life in 1998. Looking at the list I have created, many of my selections are impossible to separate from the memories they provide of my first year with Ms. Faux. Others are selections I did not discover until after 1998, but often for reasons connected to my life with Ms. Faux. Not all these selections have those direct connections, but those connections are still strong in my memory and certainly impact the order of the following list. Yes – a Top 25 list! Everyone’s favorite!!! I have created two lists for 1998. Next week’s list will present some of my favorite albums from a variety of musical genres. It is a diverse list and includes some of the selections from this week’s list. However, it seems best to start with the best. Here are my 25 favorite albums of 1998, starting with numbers 25 to 11. Part two of this 1998 show will present my Top 10.

Number 25: Emits Showers of Sparks by Sixteen Deluxe

This album is probably the least-known and least critically acclaimed on this list. It is the second album by Austin band Sixteen Deluxe, and their first (and only) for a major label. When I started making this list, there were dozens of alt-rock selections from which to choose, and as I made cuts this album kept rising out of the rubble as one that I had to include. I can honestly say that I have not listened to it since 1998, but there were a couple of weeks after I bought it when I listened to it religiously. Like many CDs in my collection, it drifted into the vast wasteland of forgotten music. Finding it again 25 years later has brought back great memories. First, the aforementioned band of which I was a member until 1998 sounded more like this band than any other on the list. This is noisy psych-rock driven by influences such as Flaming Lips, Luna, Swervedriver, and Butthole Surfers. These are all direct influences on the band for which I was a member. In addition, the vocals of Carrie Clark are a refreshing discovery in the pile of male-dominated alt-rock of the ‘90s. Unless you were married to Kurt Cobain, in a band with the founder of SubPop Records, or a former member of the Pixies, it was hard to make it as a female vocalist in 1998. Unsurprisingly, it is still just as difficult to succeed as a female rock vocalist, so it seems important to recognize any woman who attempted to do so and was able to succeed at this level. The songs are a varied collection of ballads and rockers, with swirling guitars and beautiful indie-rock harmonies. The songs are catchy. The sound is pure late-90s indie rock. This one deserves to be rediscovered.

Numbers 24 to 21

There are four albums on this list that I didn’t know beyond a cursory level until I started researching this show. They are all rock albums and would have been some of my favorites at the time if I had owned them. As a group, the first 5 albums on this list (these four plus Sixteen Deluxe) present different types of rock that was popular at the time, and was all influenced by the music of the first seven years of the ‘90s. These five albums are the reason this is not a Top 20 list. My original concept was a Top 20 list, and when I looked at the albums I had cut it seemed important to include these five. The music of 1998 was set firmly in the period at which rock music was about to shift into second-level status. Rap music, boy bands, various types of club music, roots music, and a new form of rock heralded by artists like Radiohead and Wilco were all about to push rock and roll into the background. Unless you were called Foo Fighters or Green Day, the 21^st century was about to prove very unkind to rock bands with a goal of selling millions of records and making a dent on the Hot 100 album charts. That is not to say that music of this type ever went away. Bands like these have been playing local clubs and recording albums for the last 25 years, but the most popular, successful, critically acclaimed, and influential albums of the last 25 years are seldom recorded by bands like these. That is all the more reason to recognize them all these years later.

Number 24: How It Feels To Be Something On by Sunny Day Real Estate

How It Feels to Be Something On by Sunny Day Real Estate did not change the direction of music. It didn’t sell millions of copies and herald the dawning of a new age of rock and roll. It is just a well-crafted piece of indie rock by a band who learned their craft by listening to similar music in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This is local club music. It is guitar-driven indie rock with chunky riffs, angular solos, and less-than-perfect vocals. It is every band I listened to or played gigs with throughout the ‘90s. It was never meant to be music that everyone liked. Nirvana wasn’t supposed to be that either, but sometimes a band catches lightning in a bottle. After spending most of my adult life ignoring a decade of ‘90s bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, and Silverchair, I find it nice to go back and listen to a band like Sunny Day Real Estate who were creating solid indie rock for angry teens at the time when I was moving on to a more diverse interest in music.

Number 23: This is Hardcore by Pulp

Brit-pop was not dead by 1998, but it was certainly in decline. The best work of Oasis and Blur had already been produced by 1998, and even though some of the best music of the genre would continue for at least another five years, This Is Hardcore by Pulp can now be seen as one of the last great Brit-pop albums. Pulp started out as an ‘80s postpunk band but they were virtually ignored until they became a Britpop band in the ‘90s. They are best known for their 1995 single “Common People,” but This Is Hardcore is their defining album. From its success in the US to the controversy surrounding its unfortunate album cover, this is the album most people associate with the band, if they know them at all. I did not know them until recently, and I have to say that this album may not stick with me another 25 years. Still, it is a solid collection of music by a band who were probably seen as old posers when they entered the Britpop scene in the mid-90s.

Number 22: Split Personalities by 12 Rods

Of all these first five albums I have selected, this album by 12 Rods is the only one that sounds a little bit ahead of its time. It is indie rock, but it has many trappings of the new production that was about to define indie rock in the 21^st century. It owes more to Weezer than to Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Pavement, or Green Day, but it also contains a groove-based aesthetic not as common in ‘90s rock. The use of synths as a lead instrument instead of a way to add some noodling sounds is reminiscent of The Cars instead of Stereolab. The angular guitars are presented in tandem with the synths. The rhythm section sounds very modern 25 years later. This is a great album by a band who only recorded one great album.

Number 21: Stratosphere by Duster

I was recently introduced to slowcore band Duster by Faux, Jr. I should have known them when they started 25 years ago, but I didn’t. Such are the days of our lives. Released in 1998, Stratosphere was their debut album and holds up well, but after a brief four-year existence in which they released two albums and a few EPs and singles, Duster stopped recording for almost twenty years before returning to the studio four years ago. They are now selling out local clubs that they probably couldn’t half-fill 25 years ago. They have tapped into something in the desires of today’s college crowds, and good for them! I recently saw them at my favorite old local club, and it was like walking through a time portal. If you ignore the fact that they are all barely younger than me, the show was no different than every show I saw in my twenties. The crowd were all in their twenties or younger (except for about a dozen or so old dudes like me) and Faux, Jr. and his friends all loved it. I loved it as well. The spirit of Sonic Youth was present on the stage that night. The recent albums by the band, and the energy and sound they are still presenting live, proves that this sort of indie rock still has many years of life left in its tank.

The Top 20 (Numbers 20 to 11)

Number 20: A Thousand Leaves by Sonic Youth

This was the original last album I selected for this list, and it makes sense to group it with the five I’ve just discussed. This is the last great album by one of the greatest rock bands ever. Sonic Youth never compromised their sound. Much like Fugazi, they continued making music that sounded like the ‘80s throughout the ‘90s, even if everyone else was moving on. A Thousand Leaves is not their last album to earn favorable reviews, but it is the last Sonic Youth album that sounds like the Sonic Youth I remember loving in the ‘80s. Kim Gordon’s songs are especially worth a listen, and the song “Sunday” is one of the band’s best. I don’t agree with some reviewers who claim it to be one of their best (that sounds like faint praise designed for attention when one considers that the albums they released between 1985 and 1990 are arguably the greatest string of rock albums ever released and helped define the sound of alternative rock in the ‘80s), but it is a good Sonic Youth album and that makes it a great album even if it’s not their best.

Number 19: Up by R.E.M.

I had given up on R.E.M. by 1998. In fact, I gave up on them after Green, although I have always enjoyed Automatic For The People (just not near as much as most people). I find Out of Time to be one of their worst albums, Monster is a mix of a few good tracks and a lot of filler, and I’ve listened to New Adventures In Hi-Fi twice and never by choice. When Up was released, I didn’t pay any attention until I heard a track and thought it at least sounded different, if not groundbreaking. Ms. Faux, who loves R.E.M. even more than me (especially the early albums), agreed that maybe it was worth a listen, so we bought it. My memory is that neither of us were blown away, but over the last 25 years I have found myself going back to it occasionally and always finding it enjoyable. Faux, Jr. has since become an R.E.M. fan and likes this album more than their other ‘90s recordings, so it has remained in my life off and on during its existence. Listening to it one more time while researching this show, it isn’t any better than I remember, but it is good enough to include.

Number 18: Painted By Memory by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach

This is the first album on this list that wouldn’t be here if not for Ms. Faux’s influence. I was an Elvis Costello fan long before meeting my wife, but my experience with his music stopped around the Blood and Chocolate album. Ms. Faux taught me to understand the genius of Costello as an arranger, pop music composer, and genius of interpretation and melody. That all started with this album. It was perfect timing that this record was released at such an early stage of our relationship, as it let me learn about her way of evaluating music (which was very different than mine at the time). I now believe I can evaluate, interpret, understand, and enjoy music in a more mature and worthwhile way than before we met. As for this album, Painted By Memory is one of those albums that probably shouldn’t exist, but the fact that it does means that the world is a better place for its existence. After a legendary career of songwriting, most notably as the music behind the great lyrics of Hal David, Burt Bacharach had been retired from pop music for over 20 years when he collaborated on this album with Costello. The songs are credited to both, but this is clearly music by Bacharach and lyrics by Costello. Every song is wonderful. Fueled by Costello’s ability to tell a story with his unique vocal style, Bacharach’s lush pop arrangements sound both fifty years old and brand new at the same time. It won a Grammy and was critically acclaimed upon its release, but I feel that Costello’s resurgence as an icon over the last 20 years has left this album in the wake of the great recordings he has made since. That is a shame, because this collection of songs is a wonderful example of how a collaboration between artists with a common aesthetic can transcend the generations and produce timeless music.

Number 17: Moon Safari by Air

It took me years to finally fall in love with Moon Safari. It was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 1998, but I was unable to see it as anything more than another example of the trance/trip-hop/ambient electronic music that pervaded the airwaves and sales charts at the time. When I finally gave it the chance it deserved about 10 years later, I realized how special it is. I have since learned that this is the album that inspired the downtempo movement, but those sorts of sub-subgenre labels become more and more ridiculous as time passes. The most important aspect of this debut by French duo Air is the incessant groove. Faux Show readers know that I love the German progressive band Can, and this album owes as much to the music of Can and Kraftwerk as to anything that was going on in the music scene of the ’90s. Every track of this album maintains the groove to the point at which you stop even noticing a new song has begun, but every song is unique and stands on its own. That is the best praise possible to give to an album designed to groove like this. I still listen to this regularly.

Number 16: Camoufleur by Gastr Del Sol

Camoufleur is the last album by post-rock pioneers Gastr Del Sol. It is also a paradigm shift in the music of founding member Jim O’Rourke, who was about to embark on a solo career that has made him an indie music icon. Within 3 years of recording this album, O’Rourke had released his first solo albums, including the great Bad Timing, and was working with Jeff Tweedy to evolve the sound of Wilco into Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. But O’Rourke wasn’t the only icon in Gastr Del Sol. Second founding member David Grubbs was also a founding member of postpunk legends Squirrel Bait and post-hardcore band Bastro, and drummer John McEntire is a founding member of the iconic post-rock bands Tortoise and Sea and Cake. Looking back at all the work this trio of musicians accomplished on their own after 1998, it makes sense that this Gastr Del Sol album would be their final recording, and that it would be so different than their previous albums. Gastr Del Sol are considered a post-rock band, but their earlier albums aren’t as much post-rock as they are minimal experiments in the guitar-based noise music that ruled indie rock before the band’s existence. On the other hand, Camoufleur is their post-rock masterpiece. Incorporating the always present guitars of O’Rourke and Grubbs with electronic effects, ambient sounds, and forward-thinking songwriting and production, the album is a precursor to what was to come in the 21^st century. If as many people had bought and listened to Camoufleur as bought and listened to OK Computer, this would be a very different conversation. But genius isn’t always recognized and this album is now an often overlooked recording that will never get the credit it deserves.

Number 15: XO by Elliott Smith

I was always a casual Elliott Smith listener, but Faux, Jr. is a fan, so I’ve revisited his albums over the last couple of years. Like most people, I think I prefer Either/Or but I can’t give a strong reason why XO isn’t just as good. Smith’s albums aren’t that much different from each other, especially since he died before he recorded long enough to go through multiple changes in his sound. All the aspects of his music that his fans adore are found throughout his 1998 album – the sweet vocals, the great lyrics, the beautiful guitar, and the catchy melodies. He has been dead for 20 years, so listening to his music now is not as difficult as it once was for those who lived through his tragic demise. He was a great songwriter, even if he wasn’t doing anything groundbreaking, and this album still sounds relevant in a world filled with fewer and fewer songwriters of this type.

Number 14: Mezzanine by Massive Attack

There are several albums on this list that I ignored in 1998, and a couple that I had never listened to until researching this show. Mezzanine by Massive Attack is the one that has surprised me the most. I had no idea that 25 years later I would enjoy a trip hop album, but I think that is because this album presents so much more than that label implies. This record is a precursor to Radiohead’s Kid A. It is influenced by the post-rock of Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis. It is a minimalized My Bloody Valentine or Stone Roses. It owes its goth tone to early Cure, Bauhaus, and Joy Division records. It is in many ways a culmination of all the British alternative music of the last 25 years of the 20^th century. All those comparisons are why I find the record to be as good as it is, but are also a reason that it may not deserve all of the accolades it has received since its release. It seems more like the end of decades of musical evolution instead of the beginning of what is to come. Massive Attack are still performing, but the fact that they have never released another album of this quality lends some validity to this argument. Mezzanine is a great album, released at the perfect time by artists at their peak of creative power. Replicating it is impossible, and the only direction to take after such a great assimilation of the music that came before is to create something new. That isn’t always possible, but 25 years later the world still has this record to enjoy.

Number 13: Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star by Black Star

I am a fan of Mos Def the actor. His movies are not always the most successful or critically acclaimed, but he has appeared in several cult favorites and always gives a good performance. I first noticed his talent in The Italian Job (2003) and then he stole my heart as Ford Prefect in the wonderful big screen adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005). His best performance may be in 16 Blocks (2006), but my favorite Mos Def performance is in the highly under-rated Be Kind Rewind (2008). At some point in the middle of these cinematic roles, I discovered Mos Def the rapper from a performance on The Chappelle Show. This led me to search out Black Star. Although he had released some songs prior to 1998, Black Star is the first fully formed project for Mos Def. 25 years later, the style of hip hop presented by Mos Def and Talib Kweli on this album is now obsolete. This is old school hip hop of the highest level and sounds like an antique in the current world of rap. This is probably why I still listen to this album regularly. It is a throwback to the type of rap I enjoy.

Number 12: Hello Nasty by Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys seemed like an old group by 1998, but Hello Nasty is only their 5^th album after twelve years of recording experience. If you like Beastie Boys, then you like this album. If you don’t like Beastie Boys, then I guess that is a life choice you can make. I love Beastie Boys and love this album. It was a #1 album, won Grammy Awards, sold a ton of copies, and was universally acclaimed as a classic. This is arguably the best produced album for the group. This is old school sampling perfection.

Number 11: Cold and Bouncy by The High Llamas

Nobody made the sort of chamber/electronic/sophisti-pop music that The High Llamas made in the late ‘90s better than The High Llamas. Cold and Bouncy is their fourth in a string of five brilliant albums, and one of their best. As the follow-up to their breakthrough album Hawaii, expectations were set much too high for this release, and there was no way it could match the hype. Coming off a great tour with Stereolab, Cold and Bouncy was expected to be the next Pet Sounds. That is all obviously ridiculous and 25 years later it is easy to look back and see that this is a great album and does exactly what you’d expect this band to do.  

That wraps up Part One of this 1998 review. The next part will present my Top 10 albums of 1998. In the meantime, as always, thanks for listening (and reading)!

There is a playlist of this show’s songs, but I’m waiting until the Top 10 to provide it.

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